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Avengers Initiative #2 Posted 14 May 2007 Writer: Dan Slott Artist: Stefano Caselli Colors: Daniele Rudoni Publisher: Marvel Publishing, Inc.  1.00 out of 5 Stars Reviewed by Matt Rawson

Although the ending of Civil War was about the biggest cop-out I have read on a comics page in quite sometime (Come on guys, you’re trying to tell me that Cap wasn’t aware of the consequences of his actions, not to mention that Iron Man, fascist that he is of late, was placed on the moral high-ground? Bah, I say! Total BS and bad writing to boot.), the follow-up has generally been interesting. The Initiative, as it is so cleverly called, however, seems to have a two-fold purpose, both of which can be seen in the pages of Avengers: The Initiative #2. The first purpose is the surface story of a team of untried superheroes-in-training being tested in their first ever “real-world” battle saving the president from Hydra. This motley crew of teen heroes is being reared and tethered to Big Broth… er, uh… Uncle Sam in accords with the law that all superheroes should be government agents. Now that we’re all up to speed there, the second purpose seems to be an actual real world initiative to rally support for a controversial presidency now that it’s floundering in its last hours. Am I stretching? I don’t think so.

“I made a promise to the American people,” says the fictional George W. Bush on page 14 of Avengers: The Initiative #2, “that during a time a’ war they’d be safe at home. So the last thing I’m gonna do is cut and run from mine.”

That’s a nice sentiment, but during our real time of war the non-fictional Bush seems to have no problems cutting and running from the White House to Crawford Texas, the battle ground of the story at hand, any chance he gets. But, I suppose in a universe where men can fly and breathe in space, it’s not so farfetched to believe that Governor Bush could one day be a great leader of this fine country. At Marvel, we can just let our imaginations soar!

My own political opinions notwithstanding, this element of the story made me uneasy and took me completely out of the action. That feeling of uneasiness was multiplied by the Army recruitment ad printed in the book. I’ve been seeing more and more of these advertisements in the pages of my favorite comics of late and, frankly, I don’t like it. In a time when we are seeing more and more soldiers in body bags being hauled home to their families, we have to see and listen to this call-to-glory before movies, between television shows, and over the radio. Now it’s none-to-surreptitiously weaved into our comics as well. Do not get me wrong, I have friends who are in the military, and last thing I would do is to spit upon their career choice, but I don’t feel that in this day and age, when information is much more accessible than it has ever been, a superhero comicbook is a proper place to be trying to persuade young people into the service.

I have passively enjoyed Mr. Slott’s writing thus far. Avengers: The Initiative #1 was good enough to entice me into purchasing the second issue, for example, but I will go no further.

I’m not sure who in the writer-editorial hierarchy is responsible for injecting their weak political material into the otherwise fantastical Marvel universe, but I implore them to stop. It is not that the purveyor and I do not agree that bothers me, it’s that he has turned a politico into a fictional character, however brief his appearance in the story may be, in order to make him seem as heroic as the superpowered protagonists. If this isn’t the base ingredient for propaganda then I don’t know what is. Bolstering appeal for real-world political figures does not place the story in context, but rather, quite ham-fistedly, undermines the validity of the story itself as escapist fantasy.

For example, events such as 9/11 would be highly improbable on an Earth where any given citizen of New York could possibly have the ability to hurtle planets out of orbit. But I digress, 9/11 is far from the issue here. The issue is the irresponsible use of a high-profile book such as the Avengers as a platform for molding the opinions of the more impressionable readers. If the tables were turned, and the book was being used as a means of distributing anti-Bush administration material, I would probably agree with what they say, certainly, but my overall opinion of the matter would not change. Superhero comics featuring staple, cultural icons are simply not the place for it.

By now if you have noticed that I have said very little about the story itself, or the artwork, that is because none of this left an impression on me that stood out beyond my disgust clearly stated here. I believe I said something about undermining the validity of the story? Even if Mr. Slott is attempting some form of satire, of which I retain some hope of because I do respect him as a writer, I believe he needs to go back and study the works of Voltaire and Swift, because it does not come across in Avengers: The Initiative #2. If it is meant straightforward, as I have argued, then I let my chin fall to my chest and I shake my head.

I love Marvel. I grew up, and continue to grow up, with Daredevil and Captain America and Spider-Man. Why can’t such a rich universe be left alone and not have the political state of our own so clumsily forced upon it? Avengers: The Initiative #2 and any book that attempts to follow in its example will receive the lowest possible rating from me, and if it keeps up, then I will sadly have to rethink my loyalty to the House of Ideas altogether.

 

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